McShin Foundation wins national award

Henrico-based recovery organization honored in Washington, D.C.

By Kandis Wallace, Special to the Henrico Citizen

07/08/11

Left to right – John Shinholser, president and co-founder of the McShin Foundation; Stefanie Gamez (daughter of Joel Hernandez); Tony Spencer, the Caroline County Commonwealth’s Attorney; and Honesty Liller, McShin administrator, pose with the Joel Hernandez award.

Faces & Voices of Recovery and the Hazelden Foundation honored the Henrico-based McShin Foundation with the Joel Hernandez Award in Washington, D.C. last month.

Members of Faces & Voices of Recovery and the Hazelden Foundation Board of Directors present the award annually to one local, state, or regional recovery organization that recognizes the needs of the community and uses their resources to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term addiction recovery.

The McShin Foundation is a non-profit substance abuse recovery organization located in the basement of Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church in Lakeside. With only five staffers on duty, McShin hosts several peer recovery meetings and sessions a week from its church headquarters.

The foundation also provides housing and transportation options for recovering drug and alcohol abusers. McShin reaches out into the community by aiding local inmates on their journey to recovery and by influencing Virginia lawmakers to pass bills in support of alternative sentencing methods to incarceration.

On June 22, politicians, organization leaders and 20 McShin representatives, including president and co-founder John Shinholser, were among those in attendance during the ceremony held at the Washington Club in Dupont Circle.

The foundation was created by Shinholser and Carol McDaid in 2004. The couple, for whom the organization was named, previously earned the Vernon Johnson Award in 2004 and 2007. The Vernon Johnson Award honors those in long term substance addiction recovery and those who help future generations with recovery.

According to the foundation’s Executive Peer Coordinator Honesty Liller, McShin has been able to carry out its mission with limited resources and limited government funding. Both Liller and Shinholser pointed out that the foundation was still able to thrive and maintain a constant flow of people under these conditions, which made them such strong nominees for the award.

“We really didn’t get any help from anyone other than the people we serve. This is the first time in America that a non-funded agency got this award,” said Shinholser.

The McShin Foundation is what’s called a recovery community organization, or RCO, complete with halfway and transitional recovery houses and opiate detox. This RCO also connects itself with other programs that promote the long-term recovery of substance abusers, such as alcohol and drug rehab and substance abuse aftercare programs.

Shinholser added that one of the reasons that McShin stands out from other recovery centers is because members of its board of directors are from different pathways of recovery.

Many consider Joel Hernandez of Arizona a pivotal figure in the movement towards advocacy recovery. After quitting his job following a positive test for cocaine in the early 1990s, he then found out that he was permanently banned from employment at the company.

He took his case to the Supreme Court and won in a settlement. Hernandez continued to advocate recovery movement rights until his death five years ago.

Caroline County’s Commonwealth Attorney Tony Spencer spoke before the official presentation of the Joel Hernandez Award. Stefanie Gamez, daughter of the late Joel Hernandez, formally presented the McShin Foundation with the crystal trophy-piece.

“It was an honor to be recognized by Faces & Voices of Recovery and an honor for me to stand up as part of the McShin Foundation,” said McShin’s Volunteer Medical Director James Thompson, after attending the ceremony.

St. Joseph's Villa’s Flagler Housing & Homeless Services was one of three entities to earn the National Alliance to End Homelessness' Champion of Change Award. The awards were presented Nov. 17 during a ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Flagler completed its transition from an on-campus shelter to the community-based model of rapid rehousing in 2013, and it was one of the nation's first rapid re-housing service providers to be certified by NAEH. > Read more.

Richmond International Raceway's 13th annual Community Christmas tree lighting has been rescheduled from Dec. 6 to Monday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m., due to inclement weather expected on the original date.

Entertainment Dec. 12 will be provided by the Laburnum Elementary School choir and the Henrico High School Mighty Marching Warriors band. Tree decorations crafted by students from Laburnum Elementary School and L. Douglas Wilder Middle School will be on display. Hot chocolate and cookies will be supplied by the Henrico High School football boosters. > Read more.

It’s going to be a cold weekend so if you’re headed out to the James River Parade of Lights or the Richmond Road Runners Club Toy Run 5K in Innsbrook, you’d better bundle up! If you’re looking for some indoor ways to celebrate the holidays, check out Three-Penny Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story for Christmas” or “To Drive the Cold Winter Away: An Irish Celebration of the Returning Light” at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Glen Allen. Also this weekend – the Henrico Theatre will show the holiday classic “Home Alone." For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

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Lavender Fields Herb Farm, 11300 Winfrey Rd. in Glen Allen, will offer “Fresh Herbal Wreath,” the farm’s most popular class, at 10:30 a.m. Learn easy design techniques along with care tips to get the most out of your wreath. Glean useful information as you peruse the gardens to cut additional material to make your wreath pop. Cost is $30. To register, call 262-7167 or visit http://www.lavenderfieldsfarm.com.
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